GAP.2.5.

When hot work is performed near drains, trenches or catch basins, temporarily seal all drain and
manholes in the area. Use properly designed, commercial drain and manhole sealers. As an
expedient, use sand covered tarpaulins dampened with water to cover the drains and manholes.
However, sand will inevitably be washed into the drainage systems and plug the drains, requiring
clean out. Remove all drain covers immediately when welding is complete to return the drainage
system to operation. Covered drains can severely impede spill control and fire fighting operations
should an emergency occur in the unit.

DISCUSSION
Outdoor oil and chemical facilities generally require separate drainage systems defined as follows:
• Storm water drainage is a large system intended primarily for storm water runoff. The system may
go to a retention basin before going through an oil separation process. It will also carry off
flammable or combustible spills and fire protection water.
• Oily water drainage is usually a small system, serving process sample point drains, pump base
drains, and any other sources of expected hydrocarbon spillage. This system generally uses
underground sewers and flows directly to an oil separator.
• Chemical effluent drainage is a small system that collects chemical wastes. Chemical effluents
may require different treatment than oily water streams. Chemical wastes may need to be
segregated because they could react with each other or may require different disposal methods.
• Sanitary water drainage is a system that collects waste from sanitary facilities and usually conveys
it to a municipal sewer system, on-site treatment facilities or septic tank.
If a pressurized storage tank suddenly fails, a large portion of liquefied gas will vaporize immediately
and reduce the expected amount of spill on the ground. The amount of the remaining liquid spill
depends on the climatic conditions and the boiling point of the spilled product. In standard weather
conditions, the maximum liquid spill will be about 50% of the tank contents, if the product vapor
pressure is less than 100 psia (6.9 bar abs.) at 100°F (37.8°C). For lighter products, the maximum
liquid spill is an estimated 25% of the tank contents.
Since drainage from dikes, trenches, impounding basins or underground systems generally is
collected in a basin where the spill and fire protection water can be safely handled, emergency
holding basins might be required when the expected spillage exceeds the waste disposal handling
capacity.
The last issue to be considered is that of retention basin size. However product spills are handled by
sloping or grading, diking, trenching, and underground drains, the material still has to go somewhere.
Whether impoundment is remote or right under the equipment or tank from which the spill originated,
all of the spilled material and all of the fire fighting water must be accounted for. In theory this should
be a straightforward proposition; start with the volume of the largest vessel or train of vessels which
can not be readily isolated. Add the maximum expected quantity of fire fighting water. This can be
calculated by adding up the design flow rates of maximum expected number of automatic and manual
systems and multiplying by the maximum expected duration, which in the case of chemical plants is
usually 4 h. The result of this approach, however, is a calculated retention requirement of several
hundred thousand gallons. The expense of providing that much retention capacity often causes
designers to reconsider the duration of the expected fire. It is true that the 4 h time assumes a fire
under reasonably adverse conditions. If all required protection were in place and everything operated
as it was supposed to, a duration of 30 min is more likely. Assuming a duration less than that is
marginal as even with a quick and successful extinguishment of the fire there are bound to be delays
in securing the fire site and turning off the operating automatic and manual systems. Remember,
whatever assumption for fire duration is made when designing the retention system, if a fire occurs
which exceeds that duration, the burning liquid is going to go somewhere when it overflows.
Designers should always know where that somewhere is.

GAPS Guidelines
8 A Publication of Global Asset Protection Services LLC